


Resonance

by SandraMorningstar



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Barista Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun, Flower Shop Owner Johnny Suh, JohnJae Week 2021 Day 7, Light Angst, M/M, background Mark Lee/Nakamoto Yuta, implied soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:15:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29408235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SandraMorningstar/pseuds/SandraMorningstar
Summary: When Johnny woke up, he didn't expect to find himself in an alternate reality that differed in a few key points from the one he was used to. While he could live with most of them, there was one he absolutely couldn't accept: Jaehyun and him were strangers.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 6
Kudos: 56
Collections: JohnJae Fan Week 2021





	1. Wakey-Wakey

**Author's Note:**

> Full disclosure, while this was the story I started writing first, it was also the one that gave me the most trouble. I actually had a very long and intricate plot planned out only to realize I would never get it finished in time even if I worked solely on this fic and scrapped all ideas for the other days. So, I cut and condensed a lot of scenes but I feel I might have overdone it and I am admittedly not really happy with the end result. I even thought about not uploading it at all but I didn't want all the work and love I put into this to be for nothing.
> 
> I still hope it will be an enjoyable read.

The first thing Johnny felt when he opened his eyes was regret. He felt _awful_. His temples were throbbing with a mind-numbing headache and the bright morning light flooding in through the windows hurt his eyes. Johnny groaned and turned his back to the window, pulling the blanket over his head.

Five minutes later his phone alarm went off. The new day had officially begun. Johnny made a mournful sound but forced himself out of bed, nonetheless. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes he slowly moved in the general direction of the bathroom. His mind was already on today’s schedule. First thing today was a radio interview. Good. Of course, there would be some pictures and maybe a live feed from a webcam, but with a bit of make-up he’d look presentable enough for that. The photoshoot after that was more of a problem but he chose to cross that bridge when he actually got there. And then–

He stopped dead in his tracks. This wasn’t his room. Or any room in the dorm for that matter. He looked around, trying to remember if he had ever been in this particular room but drew a blank. A nervous laugh escaped him. This was bad. Really bad, potentially. He could already imagine the lecture his manager would give him. How he ought to know better and, really, he should. He was sure he hadn’t drunk that much yesterday. A glass of wine during dinner and then one cocktail when Mark and Yuta had joined them and that was it. Hardly enough to cause a hangover of this calibre – unless someone had put something in his drink. He shuddered and decided it was high time to get out of here, wherever here was.

Unlocking his phone, he found his contact list weirdly empty. More than a little freaked out now, Johnny scrolled down the list. A few names he was pretty sure he’d never seen before in his life were on it for some inexplicable reason. Mark’s name was the first familiar one and he immediately pressed call.

“Ay Romeo!”, Mark greeted him, clearly amused.

“Heeeey” Johnny drew the word out awkwardly, not quite sure what to say. “Um, didn’t we all leave together yesterday?”

Mark laughed. “Dude, me and Yuta lost you after like five minutes. We looked but you were just gone.”

“Ah” That wasn’t the answer he’d hoped for. “Um, okay, I just woke up god-knows-where and I need a ride. If I send you my location, can you get a car to pick me up?”

“Sure thing”, Mark said, sounding sympathetic.

“Thanks” He quickly shared his location and then put the phone back to his ear.

Mark was cackling. “Dude, are you still drunk? You’re literally in our apartment”, he gasped out between bursts of laughter.

“What?” Johnny felt like he had truly lost the plot now.

“Taxi’s on the way”, Mark informed him. He’d stopped laughing but the amusement still clung unmistakably to his words. “See you in a few”

“Yeah, see ya.” Johnny ended the call. He felt utterly shaken. Was this a prank? Some sort of joke? Doubtful. But what other rational explanation was there? Lost in thought, he gathered his things, put on his jacket and left the apartment. The taxi was already waiting and as the driver immediately took off as soon as he’d gotten in, he assumed Mark had told the man where to deliver Johnny. Good, because he himself had no idea.

Johnny used the drive to compose himself and tried to suss out what the hell was going on. He really didn’t think this was a prank. Which left two other options: Either he had woken up in some sort of alternate reality or the life he thought he remembered was one big, crazy hallucination conjured up by his brain. He wasn’t keen on either of these theories being true, but if he had to choose, he much preferred the first one.

The taxi came to a halt. Johnny mumbled an awkward thank you, paid the driver and climbed out.

Mark was waiting for him, leaning in the doorway of a flower shop. The sign over the door and the lettering of the very beautifully decorated display window both read “Paeonia & Hyacinthus”. The name stirred something in Johnny’s mind. He remembered walking into the shop for the first time, the windows blinded with old newspapers. Dust filled the stale air of the empty room with its worn linoleum floor and paint-chipped walls. Still, the place had immediately felt right to him.

“Hey, earth to Johnny!”, Mark pulled him out of his own head. “There’s a cup of coffee with your name on it waiting for you on the counter. And some aspirin, too. No offence but you look like you need it.” That said, he led the way inside. Johnny followed mechanically, busy trying to make sense of the sudden intrusive thought he’d just experienced. He couldn’t bring himself to call it a memory.

Stepping into the shop felt unsettlingly familiar. Like he had crossed this threshold a million times before. But he hadn’t. He clung to this certainty as if it was a lifeline. At least the styrofoam cup warming his hands felt familiar in a good way. He took a sip and concentrated on nothing but the calming, pleasantly bitter taste. Feeling less adrift and lost, he decided to play along for the time being. There was little else he could do, and it beat going quietly insane as he attempted to find out what the hell was going on.

“Thanks for calling a taxi, by the way”, he said. “And for the coffee”

“You can return the favour when we go to the coffee shop later”, Mark said with a cheeky smile. The one that told Johnny that this had been a setup and he’d ran straight into it.

He smiled and nodded. “My treat it is.”

Johnny had been worried that he would run into trouble the moment the first customer walked through the door. As much as he could play at feeling at home behind the counter, he didn’t actually know anything about flowers or owning a business. Well, he knew a little about flowers he supposed, thinking back to the day he’d filmed the flower arranging episode of JCC together with Mark. He doubted what little knowledge he’d retained would be enough to really help him now, though.

When it actually came to it, however, something peculiar happened.

It was like a switch in Johnny’s mind was flipped. He heard himself explain the meaning of the different flowers and watched his hands expertly craft a stunning bouquet, all while keeping up a pleasant conversation throughout. At first, it freaked him out, but he soon made his peace with it and allowed his autopilot to take over whenever he had to take care of a customer.

Around eleven, there was a lull in the steady stream of customers. Mark, who had been busy restocking, stretched and announced: “Looks like we’re in the clear.”

“Mn”, Johnny hummed.

“Coffee?” Mark raised his eyebrows questioningly, indicating that Johnny was acting weird. In what way exactly was anyone’s guess, though, and Johnny couldn’t exactly ask.

“Yes, please”, he said instead.

The quizzical expression on Mark’s face dissipated. “Looks like your brain isn’t all scrambled after all”, he teased with a smirk.

In response, Johnny nudged him playfully as he walked past him. “Careful or it’ll be your treat after all”, he mock-threatened with a delighted smile.

They kept up their banter the whole way to the café. Johnny couldn’t help groaning internally at the bad pun name – Smooth Grind – but he trusted his alternate reality self that the coffee would be worth it.

The door opened to the jangling sounds of a windchime and Johnny took in the relaxed atmosphere of the place. The furniture was a seemingly random mix of comfortable chairs and small couches arranged around a similarly diverse mix of tables that nonetheless somehow came together nicely. It gave the café the look of a slightly eclectic living room. A good number of the tables were occupied but it was just crowded enough for the conversations to turn into a pleasant background hum.

Mark made a beeline towards a set of chairs right by the window and threw himself into the biggest of the three seats, a nearly antique-looking wingback chair. From his cat-that-got-the-cream grin Johnny guessed that this chair was either usually his favourite spot or contested territory, up for grabs for whoever acted faster.

He nodded, acknowledging Mark’s win and sat down in the chair opposite and studied the small menu that was laid out on the table.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually going to order something different today”, Mark teased.

“Maybe”, Johnny said thoughtfully. He didn’t know what his alternate self usually ordered.

“What can I get you?” A waiter had stepped up to their table, standing right next to Johnny. Mark gestured for him to go first.

Johnny looked up – and froze. Jaehyun smiled patiently, pen poised and ready to write down his order. He looked every bit as gorgeous as Johnny remembered him, but there was not a hint of recognition in his eyes. The realization stung.

“If you need a bit longer to decide, just say the word”, Jaehyun offered politely.

“He’ll take an Americano and I’ll have a Banana Milk and a Chocolate Chip Cookie”, Mark interjected.

Jaehyun nodded, wrote everything down and then disappeared from Johnny’s field of vision. He fought the urge to turn around and look after him. Up until now this whole situation had been surreal but manageable. But this? He couldn’t deal with this. Johnny suddenly felt dizzy and breathless.

“Woah, are you alright?” Mark sounded on edge and honestly concerned.

“No” Johnny got up and hovered next to his chair for a moment, uncertain what to do. All he knew was that he needed a moment to himself. He spotted the sign for the restrooms and with a mumbled apology in Mark’s direction made his way there.

Locked away in one of the stalls, he slowly managed to get a hold of himself again. He’d just been caught unaware, he told himself. It wasn’t the whole truth, though. Seeing Jaehyun so suddenly had been a shock but it wasn’t what had rattled him so thoroughly. What had done it was the way Jaehyun had smiled at him without really smiling _at_ him. The realisation that there was nothing between them – that they didn’t even know each other – in this reality had hurt like a punch to the gut.

Someone knocked on the door of the stall he was in.

“Hey, um, you’ve been MIA for a while”, Mark said quietly. The way he dragged out the words told Johnny that he wasn’t sure how to deal with the situation. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah, it was just … a delayed aftershock of last night, I guess.” He didn’t like lying to Mark. However, with the alternative being to tell him that he thought he’d woken up in an alternate universe, he felt he didn’t have much of a choice.

“You really overdid it, huh?” Mark sounded sullen.

“Must have.” Johnny got out of the stall and smiled reassuringly. “But it’s nothing a good night’s sleep won’t fix. That and more coffee.”

Mark nodded, the tension flowing out of his shoulders.

“Yuta’s coming over for dinner today”, Mark said once they were back at their table.

“Cool”, Johnny said, doing his best to sound casual even though the prospect of seeing another familiar face made him as giddy as he’d always been as a kid on Christmas morning.

Mark looked dubious. “Are you sure? If you’d rather have a quiet evening we’d get out of your hair.”

“No, it’s fine”, Johnny hastily assured him with a genuine smile on his face.

Mark gave him a thumbs up and pulled out his phone, presumably to tell Yuta that tonight was a go.

“Sorry, you had to wait so long”, Jaehyun apologized as he stepped up to their table once more. He set down their order.

“No worries”, Johnny said and out of habit laid a gentle hand onto Jaehyun’s arm. He realised his mistake a second too late. Jaehyun stilled, his eyes widening ever so slightly. A fierce blush crept onto his cheeks and ears. Johnny quicky let go of him, doing his best to play it off as casual. Something told him he was not all that successful, though. Maybe it was the way his own cheeks felt hot and were surely as flushed as the waiter’s.

Jaehyun recovered first. “Well, let me know if you need anything else”, he said and when he smiled this time it wasn’t the professional customer service smile from before. This was the smile Johnny knew so well he could perfectly recreate it in his mind’s eye. It was warm and inviting, yet almost shy. Jaehyun always ducked his head when he smiled like that.

“Never play Poker”, Mark said once they were alone again and took a long sip of his banana milk.

“What?”

“Are you really going to play oblivious?” Mark raised a questioning eyebrow. “If you were flirting any harder, you’d have to confess to him right here and now.” He grinned cheekily.

Johnny felt himself blushing once more. “I wasn’t flirting!”, he blurted out defensively.

Mark snorted.

“I thought I recognised him”, Johnny mumbled which was sort of the truth.

“He certainly didn’t seem to mind.” Mark leaned back in his chair with a knowing smile. Something like hope bloomed in Johnny’s chest but he didn’t allow the spark to turn into a flame.

Before he could answer, the sound of shattering porcelain cut into their conversation. Johnny turned around to see what had happened.

He saw Jaehyun, who stood amidst a mass of broken tableware and spilled coffee, a tray clutched to his chest. In the silence following the commotion his words rang loud and clear through the café: “I’m sorry, sir, but I have to ask you to leave.” He sounded calm and authoritative but there was a tension to his posture.

The man he was talking to seemed unimpressed. He sneered and in an overt threat stepped right into Jaehyun’s personal space. “Is this any way to treat a customer?”, he snapped loudly. Everyone in the café intently pretended not to notice what was going on but that did nothing to dispel the mounting tension.

Jaehyun looked furious, his gaze flinty, but when he replied his voice was deceptively calm. “Certainly not, sir. What can I get you?”

The man hesitated, obviously caught off guard. He muttered something and left. Once the door fell shut behind him, Jaehyun let out an audible sigh. He knelt down and began picking up the shards. Johnny hurried over to help.

“Difficult customer?”, he asked as he picked up a large piece of what used to be a mug and placed it on the tray where Jaehyun had already collected a small pile.

“Something like that.”

Johnny knew it wasn’t his place to pry – not in this reality –, but he sensed that there was something more to this encounter. Something that worried Jaehyun and he was so used to at least offer a friendly ear or a shoulder to cry on that it took physical effort to hold back now.

“Thank you”, Jaehyun said once they had cleaned up the worst of it. And there was his smile again. Johnny couldn’t help but reciprocate.

* * *

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Johnny’s mind was stuck on Jaehyun and he was reminded of the beginning of their relationship. Back then, too, all his thoughts seemed to revolve around the other. He’d been on cloud nine yet simultaneously sick with worry; scared to do or say something that would reveal their true feelings or be caught in a compromising position. There had been countless nights he’d spent wide awake as his mind imagined ever more dire scenarios of what would happen if they were found out.

He trailed after Mark as they walked home, only half listening to him and keeping the conversation going with hums and one-word acknowledgements. Luckily, Mark didn’t seem to mind or rather not to notice. He was practically buzzing with excitement and even as distracted as he was, Johnny got the impression that he was more than a little bit nervous.

Yuta was waiting for them in front of their apartment, leaning against the wall. When he spotted them, his face lit up with a smile and he bounded over to them to pull Mark into a bear hug.

“Ah, I missed you all day”, he said loudly and with mock desperation before planting a sloppy kiss onto Mark’s forehead.

Mark wriggled out of his grasp, but he was laughing and blushing. “Stop it”, he said breathlessly.

With playful seriousness, Yuta saluted and put an arm around Mark’s shoulder. “And how are you doing?”, he asked with a sympathetic half-smile.

“Better than this morning”, Johnny replied jokingly. “I’d be happier if I knew what happened yesterday.” They walked to the door and Mark pulled out his keys, letting them in.

They trekked upstairs and all collapsed onto the couch. Comfortable quiet stretched out between them. It felt achingly familiar to Johnny. He remembered countless backstage rooms and photoshoots where they had lounged around like that; when they were too tired to talk or joke around. They would simply all huddle together, laying sprawled next to and half on top of each other. Sometimes a few or all of them dozed off. They all had countless pictures of each other sleeping in funny or awkward positions. It had grown into a veritable competition.

“Johnny!”

He flinched, returning to the here and now. “Wha–”

Instead of an answer a tissue was shoved under his nose. It came away wet and red. Mark and Yuta were hovering on either side of him, looking a little shaken.

“Sorry”, Johnny mumbled and took the tissue from Mark’s hand.

“We should take you to a hospital”, Mark declared.

“It’s just a nosebleed–”

“It’s not. You were completely spaced out right now.”

“It’s really nothing”, Johnny quickly tried to assure them. He wasn’t certain that was the truth, but he didn’t want them to worry or, well, worry even more. Besides, he had a hunch these symptoms were caused by him being in the wrong reality. Not exactly something a doctor could do anything about.

Mark made a frustrated sound.

“We can’t force him to go”, Yuta intervened. “So, for now, let’s just order food and have an eye on him?”

Mark didn’t look happy about it, but after a moment he nodded and acquiesced. “Fine. Any food preferences?”

“I’m good with whatever as long as it gets here quick”, Yuta said. “I am starving!”

“Me too”, Johnny added.

“Thai it is”, Mark said with a nod and headed into the kitchen only to return moments later with a delivery service menu.

The rest of the evening went over without another hitch. They ate dinner together, watched a movie and then later played a few rounds of Mario Kart. By the end the only one still fully focused on the game was Johnny. Mark, tired of losing, had taken to playing dirty and was doing his best to distract Yuta with kisses and progressively less chaste touches. Somehow, Yuta still managed to keep his pole position. When he suggested a rematch, Mark threatened he would have to sleep on the couch. So, they called it a night.

Despite feeling bone tired, Johnny lay awake for a long time. A million thoughts filled his head. Was he stuck here now? Or would he wake up in his reality tomorrow like nothing had happened? Was this maybe all just some very weird, vivid dream? And what if he had to stay? That question brought one name to mind again: Jaehyun. If he was truly stuck here, he wanted Jaehyun by his side. He had managed to win him over once. Surely, he could do it again.

Right?


	2. Love Me Now

The next morning was significantly less jarring. Johnny got up, went to take a shower, got dressed and was already sitting at the table with his first cup of coffee when Mark stumbled out of his room. Yuta was right behind him, somehow managing to look even less awake.

Mark raised a hand in greeting as he shuffled past him on the way to the kitchen, mumbling something inaudible.

Yuta sank into the chair next to Johnny, glowering. “How can you be this awake?”, he said reproachfully.

“Well, considering I didn’t have hot sex until the early hours of the morning, that’s not really an achievement.”

“Ah damn, you heard that?” Yuta looked somewhere between chagrined and proud.

“I’d have had to be dead not to have heard that.”

“Who’s dead?”, Mark asked, visibly confused, as he sat down opposite of them.

“No one”, Johnny said and let out an amused snort.

“Your roar woke the whole neighbourhood again, love”, Yuta teased with a sweet smile, sending a kiss across the table. Mark instantly went beet red and sank deeper into his chair.

Johnny and Yuta shared amused glances, both holding back laughter. No matter which reality, it was just too much fun to tease Mark a little from time to time.

“You’re the worst. Both of you”, Mark grumbled surly, pointedly ignoring them for the rest of breakfast.

By the time they headed out everything was forgotten, though. Yuta even got a kiss goodbye, despite Mark claiming that he didn’t really deserve it. Johnny thought that anyone who could go that many rounds in bed deserved whatever they wanted but what did he know. It suddenly occurred to him that he actually might not know. Had his alternate universe self any experience? Did he like men? Women? Both? Neither? Was there any way to find out? He looked over at Mark who was really the obvious answer – if he could think of a casual way to ask. Because ‘Hey, by the way, do you know if I ever had sex before?’ definitely wasn’t a question you asked in casual conversation. Or any conversation.

That particular question immediately got pushed to the back burner when they arrived at the flower shop and found somebody already waiting for them. Johnny felt his heartbeat quicken as he locked eyes with Jaehyun and he couldn’t help the probably goofy smile that crept onto his face. He hadn’t expected to see him again today – at least not until they went to grab coffee – and once again he was stunned by how gorgeous Jaehyun looked. In the light of the morning sun, he looked almost ethereal. His brown hair seemed to be shot through with strands of gold and his skin had a honeyed tint to it. And then he smiled, too, and Johnny felt his heart stutter and skip a beat.

“Hey”, he said very eloquently.

“Hi”, Jaehyun replied a little shyly, his ears ever so slightly reddening. “I, um, I could need your help. Well, actually the café could.” Seeing him this flustered was really endearing, Johnny thought to himself and carefully filed away the memory.

“What can I do for you?”, he asked.

“We were supposed to get new flower arrangements delivered today but long story short, something went wrong with our order and we get nothing apart from a refund. Which is something, I suppose, but we still need new flowers.” Jaehyun dropped his gaze. “I know this is probably too short notice…”

“I’m sure we can do something”, Johnny promised, his heart soaring when Jaehyun looked at him with new hope in his eyes.

“Really?”

“Let’s go inside and have a look.”

“Thank you” Jaehyun was beaming and Johnny felt a familiar warmth bloom in his chest at the sight.

Continuing to act casual was difficult like this, but he did his best.

“Are you looking for anything specific?”, he asked. “Certain flowers? Or colours?”

“Oh, um” The question had caught Jaehyun off guard. “I think the ones we usually get are white and red with some pink ones” He smiled apologetically. “That’s not really helpful, is it?”

“Not if you want the exact same flowers. But I think we can come up with something nice and hey maybe you’ll recognize some of the flowers when you actually see them”, Johnny encouraged. He turned to Mark. “Do you mind setting up the displays on your own?”

“Of course not”, Mark assured easily.

“Thank you”

He led Jaehyun into the back room where they kept most of their stock overnight. The buckets of flowers were stacked in special shelves that lined the walls, each three rows high. The finished bouquets stood huddled together on a table in the middle of the room. The remaining space was just enough to move around comfortably.

Jaehyun looked around with wide eyes, amazed. “I had no idea there were so many types of flowers”, he said quietly.

“And that’s only a fraction of all there is.”

“Wow”, Jaehyun said quietly, eyes sparkling as he walked past the rows on the wall. He reached out, then stopped and looked at Johnny. “Can I touch them?”

“Of course.” Johnny grinned. “But be careful, some of them have thorns.”

With a nod, Jaehyun turned his attention back to the flowers, particularly to a bucket of deep red Camellias. He reached out and gently traced the edges of a petal with his fingertips, his lips parted ever so slightly in quiet wonder. The only way Johnny could describe it was enchanting.

“I think I read once that they all mean something”, Jaehyun said, turning to look at Johnny.

“They do”, Johnny nodded. “Of course, not a lot of people know which flower stands for what these days. But people used to send whole love confessions that way.”

“What do they mean?” Jaehyun pointed at the Camellias.

“It stands for a strong, all-encompassing love. A destined relationship”, Johnny found himself saying, unconsciously tapping into his alternate universes self’s memories again.

Jaehyun’s eyes brightened. “So, like soulmates?”

Johnny nodded.

“I hope I’ll meet someone to give these to one day” Jaehyun’s eyes suddenly widened and he actually put a hand in front of his mouth as if to take the words back. Apparently, he hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

“I am absolutely sure you will”, Johnny said. “Actually, I think the Camellias would be a good centrepiece for the arrangements. What do you think?”

Jaehyun nodded. His ears were still flushed but otherwise he had recovered.

They went with bouquets of Camellias, Myrtle and Ivy. It was simple but eye-catching, Johnny thought. As he assembled arrangement after arrangement, Jaehyun watched him with intense interest.

“You make it look so easy”, he said after a while.

Johnny hummed. “In a way it is, I suppose”, he replied. “You start with the centrepiece flower or flowers. They are the biggest, most impressive flowers. From there, you work your way outward, mixing greenery and flowers. That’s it, really, from a technical standpoint.”

“It can’t be that easy”, Jaehyun asserted. He stepped even closer, picking up one of the myrtle blossoms. “For example, why did you choose this flower to go with the red one?”

“Colour is one reason. White and red make for a striking combination. But it’s also because myrtle is another flower that symbolizes love.”

Jaehyun cocked his head at that, one eyebrow raised questioningly. “I get the feeling all flowers stand for love”

That made Johnny chuckle. “A lot of them do, I suppose, but there is nuance to it. For example, we have the camellia that stands for all-encompassing love, the myrtle that symbolizes love in general and the ivy we’re using signifies fidelity. There are flowers that stand for maternal love or a happy marriage, too. And, of course, some have less light-hearted meanings like loss and mourning and even hate.”

“So you could send someone a bouquet that says fuck you?” Jaehyun grinned, apparently delighted by this bit of trivia.

Johnny chuckled. “Yes, you could.” Even though they were strangers in this reality, talking to Jaehyun felt so easy and natural. Addictingly so. He thought about his resolve from the day before. Now would be a good moment to make a move, wouldn’t it?

Only, he suddenly seemed to have forgotten how.

Should he just ask him out? Or would that be too forward? How else could he let him know he was interested? Would Jaehyun even be interested in him? And if he wasn’t, would hitting on him drive him away?

He lost his nerve, the conversation ebbing away into silence as he did so. They finished the rest of the bouquets without saying much more. The atmosphere had gotten awkward.

And then Mark walked in, carrying two transport boxes.

“Figured you’d need these”, he said. “Or, actually, could you take care of the invoice? I’ll pack everything up in the meantime.”

“Sure” Johnny nodded. Jaehyun followed him as he walked back to the front of the shop. They made polite smalltalk as Johnny wrote the invoice. Johnny couldn’t help being disappointed, but he did his best to gloss over it.

His sullen mood persisted even after he had helped Jaehyun carry everything back to the café and the other had thanked him about a hundred times for it. Back in the shop, he slumped into the chair behind the counter with a deep sigh.

Mark looked at him, hands crossed in front of his chest, and shook his head. “You’re hopeless. You know that, right?”

“Thanks for the pick-me-up”, Johnny grumbled.

“Oh, don’t mope around. I was nice enough to help you out.” He grinned proudly.

Johnny narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “What did you do?”

“Wrote your number on the packaging paper.”

“You can’t do that!”, Johnny snapped, nearly yelling. He felt himself going pale as he thought about the potential aftermath. And then he paused, suddenly realizing he didn’t need to fear these kinds of things here.

“Why not?”, Mark demanded, thankfully amused instead of offended by Johnny’s outburst. “It’d hardly be the first time I’m playing matchmaker. What was the other guy’s name again? Something starting with a T?”

“Alright, alright, point taken.” Johnny raised his hands in surrender. “But what if he’s not into me. Or men in general.”

Mark let out a deep sigh. “You really need to learn to do your research.” With that, he pulled out his phone, typed something and then handed it to him.

It showed an Instagram profile, Jaehyun’s Instagram profile to be exact. Johnny scanned it. The Bio was short and to the point: Jeong Jaehyun – full-time student, part-time barista, sometimes model. The short text was followed by a rainbow flag. Johnny felt a weight drop off of his shoulders. He scrolled through the pictures. Most of them were very artistic landscape photos, mixed with some food porn and the occasional selfie. The latter fewer in number than he had expected from someone who occasionally moonlighted as a model.

“You should follow him”, Mark suggested and took back his phone.

Johnny blushed. “Wouldn’t that be weird?”, he said quietly.

Instead of an answer, Mark sighed deeply and shook his head.

* * *

The next days passed in the sort of breathless anticipation that somehow managed to simultaneously make everything pass you by while also slowing time down to a crawl. Johnny was basically glued to his phone from dusk till dawn and kept it close even when he slept. Mark and Yuta were teasing him mercilessly for it but none of their jabs truly landed even though he sometimes played along for their sake. He didn’t want to miss when Jaehyun called.

If he called, Johnny amended after three days of waiting without a sign.

It was Friday and that meant there was a whole weekend looming ahead. With no visits to the coffee shop. Not that Jaehyun had been there these past few days but that wasn’t all that surprising. He had lectures to attend after all and probably worked afternoon or night shifts on most days. Of course, technically, there was nothing stopping him from going to the café on Saturday and waiting however long it took for Jaehyun to show up. That didn’t feel right, though. He’d been on the receiving end of this kind of behaviour often enough that even the thought turned his stomach. So, that was out of the question.

In the end, he caved on the matter of following Jaehyun on Instagram. Mark was right. There was no harm in it. He probably wouldn’t even notice that Johnny was following him, given his follower count.

Or so he had thought.

As they were eating dinner – Yuta had cooked for them today and it honestly tasted better than anything Mark or Johnny himself would have been able to make –, his phone pinged, signalling a new message.

He casually looked over as his lookscreen lit up and nearly dropped his chopsticks.

@je0ng_jae has sent you a message

Yuta was the first to notice his stunned silence and before Johnny could react, he had taken his phone, looking at the notification.

“Is that the cute barista?”, he said and held the phone out to Mark who nodded.

Johnny wrestled the phone out of Yuta’s hand and shoved it into his pocket. His heart was beating hard and fast. He wanted to reply immediately. But he also didn’t want to give the other two even more ammunition to tease him.

“Privacy”, he demanded somewhat lamely, fully aware that he was definitely blushing.

“Are you gonna reply to him?”, Yuta asked excitedly.

“Yes” As if that was even a question. “But not with you around to act as a peanut gallery.”

Yuta pouted.

“Come on, leave him alone”, Mark said, sending an encouraging smile Johnny’s way. “I remember you being not much better than him back when we started dating.”

“That’s a lie!”, Yuta protested loudly, a rare blush creeping onto his cheeks. It wasn’t easy to fluster him.

“You took three months to ask him to grab a coffee with you”, Johnny reminded him, grinning smugly.

Yuta buried his head in his hands and groaned. “Will I ever live this down?”

“Nope”, Mark and Johnny said in unison, high-fiving each other.

A rush of memories flashed past Johnny’s mind’s eye, then, vivid and disorienting.

Yuta had met Mark when he had bought some flowers for a blind date some of his co-workers had set up for him and immediately been smitten with him. The following months he’d kept dropping in and buying more flowers. Which led Mark, who also had been crushing hard, to believe that Yuta and his blind date had really hit it off and were dating. The whole thing went on like that for a while, both of them pining and neither working up the courage to make a move. Finally, Johnny had intervened and simply asked Yuta about all the flowers he was buying. Yuta had made an attempt to come up with an excuse but quickly came clean. And then he had asked Mark out, choosing the fanciest coffee shop in town – only to learn that Mark didn’t even like coffee all that much. But given how often he and Johnny went to the coffee shop around the corner, it was an easy mistake to make.

“Hey!” Mark waved a hand in front of his face, snapping him back to attention. “Dude, you’re spacing out again.”

“Sorry”, Johnny mumbled. He felt dizzy but did his best not to let it show. Successfully, because Mark settled down again.

After dinner, Yuta and Mark headed out to go see a movie. Johnny had the apartment to himself and finally read Jaehyun’s message.

_Hey, only realized an hour ago that you  
followed me back. :D Thanks again for the   
flowers by the way. You really helped me  
out a lot!_

Followed back? Johnny checked his own follower list and, indeed, there was Jaehyun. Since when was he following him?

_I hadn’t even noticed you were following me.  
Sorry! I wasn’t really active on social media   
lately._

He hit send before he could overthink things. To his surprise, a reply came not a minute later.

_I noticed. You used to post almost every day  
and now you’ve been silent for over a week. _

_God, I sound like some weird online stalker!  
OTL_

_I just really like your photos, I swear._

Johnny believed him.

_Thank you! I just dabble but I like to think I’m  
not half bad._

This time the reply took a little longer. Johnny used the time to clean up the remaining plates and start the dishwasher, then went to his room and plunked down onto the bed.

_You’re not bad at all! I’ve worked with pros  
who didn’t have half your eye for framing._

He stared at the message, warmth filling his chest as he read it over and over. It was hard not to read too much into it, but they still were barely even acquaintances.

Johnny tried to remember how they had passed that hurdle the first time. The best he could come up with was proximity, however. They were around each other all the time. And between living at the dorm and promotions, a lot of boundaries went forgotten. Johnny hadn’t so much consciously developed a crush on Jaehyun but rather walked blindly into it. This made his attempts to reverse-engineer the whole thing rather futile.

With a sigh, Johnny typed out a half-hearted reply.

_Thanks!_ 😊 _I’m flattered._

He knew it was the kind of reply that made it all too easy to leave the conversation hanging but just like at the flower shop he froze up. It wasn’t something he was used to with Jaehyun. That was one of the many things that had drawn Johnny so much to him. Being around him was easy and comfortable. So, why wasn’t it working here?

Because he was scared, Johnny admitted to himself for the first time. As much as he had attempted to simply take things in stride, being stranded in this alternate reality – maybe forever – terrified him. He was tense and stressed and missing his old life. His real life. Most of all, he missed being with Jaehyun. If he could get over himself, he could have that here, too. But that was the crux of the matter, wasn’t it? The fear that it wouldn’t work out this time. That he would fuck up. Or that this reality’s Jaehyun would reject him. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to take that and apparently his solution was to self-sabotage. Great.

With a sigh he decided to head straight to bed. 

* * *

The room was dark and quiet when Johnny startled awake. His heart was hammering against his ribcage as if he had just awoken from a nightmare. He didn’t remember dreaming, though. In an attempt to calm himself down he got up to fetch a glass of water. A wave of nausea crashed down over him, his steps faltering. The floor seemed strangely un-solid. Walking felt like he was continually missing the last step of a staircase, causing a terrible twisting feeling in his stomach. Steadying himself with a hand on the wall, Johnny nonetheless forced himself to move.

He needed fresh air.

Being outside made him feel a bit better. He took a deep breath. Something still felt off, though, and he couldn’t pinpoint if it was him or the deserted street with its quietly buzzing streetlights.

Without making a conscious decision, he started walking. No goal in mind. It was like his feet were moving on their own and he was merely along for the ride.

Maybe he was dreaming, he thought after wandering through the city for a while. It would explain this deep-seated feeling of surreality that seemed to emanate from everything as well as why he felt like he was walking on something much less solid than a concrete walkway.

His head hurt. A splitting headache, the pain coming in waves that made him gasp and screw his eyes shut.

He stumbled and fell. His hands and knees scraped across asphalt, the pain of it sharp and vivid. For a moment, it brought everything back into focus. Maybe Mark had been right. He should go see a doctor. Slowly, he got to his feet and suddenly realized he didn’t recognise his surroundings at all. How far had he even walked? He didn’t have a clue. Leaning against the wall, Johnny reached for his phone – and came up empty. And then he remembered putting it down on his nightstand before going to sleep. He cursed under his breath. And then another nausea attack hit him, forcing him back onto his knees. All he could do was stop himself from screaming and waking the whole neighbourhood.

“Johnny?” A gentle pair of hands landed on his shoulders. “Thank god I found you.” He looked up and was suddenly face to face with Jaehyun.

“Jae?” He was confused. What was he doing here?

“Can you stand? What happened? Do you need a doctor?” There was deep concern in everything from Jaehyun’s expression to the way he kept holding on to him.

“I don’t know”, Johnny said which was the answer to all three questions.

Jaehyun seemed to understand. He nodded. “I’ll help you up, okay?”

“Okay”

Together they managed to get Johnny back onto his feet, though he still had to hold on to the wall to keep himself upright.

“Are you hurt?”, Jaehyun asked.

“Nothing major”, Johnny assured, made self-conscious by how close they were. “Just a few scrapes from the fall and a bad headache.”

Somehow, Jaehyun managed to look even more worried. “Bad enough to make you collapse? Why didn’t you go to the hospital?”

The question resonanted in his mind, kicking loose thousands of memories of Jaehyun asking him similar things _. Why didn’t you tell anyone? Are you sure you shouldn’t get this looked at? Is it very bad? Are you alright?_ Johnny realized he was crying and hastily wiped away the tears.

“I don’t think they can help me”, Johnny admitted and took a shuddering breath. “I haven’t felt right for a while and I don’t think it’s anything a doctor can fix.”

For a moment, Jaehyun looked like he was about to argue about it, but then he simply nodded. “Alright”, he said quietly. “No hospital. Can I at least offer you something for your headache? My apartment’s only a short walk away.” This also was all too familiar and right now familiar was all Johnny wanted.

“Thank you.” He agreed with a nod.

* * *

It was interesting to see Jaehyun’s apartment; even with most lights turned off. In the dorm there was only so much personal touch they could give their rooms. But this? This was all Jaehyun. The space breathed him. Simple yet cozy with soft, warm colours and a few pieces of wooden furniture.

Jaehyun led him over to the sofa and gently made him sit down on it. “I’ll be right back”, he promised and disappeared down the hallway that presumably led to the bedroom. He returned shortly after with a first aid kit and a bottle of aspirin.

“For your headache”, he said as he handed them over. “Wait, I’ll get you a glass of water.”

“Thank you”, Johnny mumbled, feeling himself getting awkward again. He thanked Jaehyun once more as he took the glass of water, feeling himself blush. Hopefully, the low lighting of the room would make it less obvious.

As he took the medicine, he realized that his headache was mostly gone already. Strange.

“Give me your hands”, Jaehyun said softly, interrupting his thoughts.

“What?”

“You scraped your hands when you fell”, Jaehyun said. “We should at least disinfect them.”

“How did you–”

“I saw it when we took the elevator. Now, no more questions okay? Hand over your hands” He grinned and ducked his head sheepishly, but it was clear he was proud of the little play on words.

Johnny complied, a soft smile on his lips. And then something else occurred to him.

“Why did you say _Thank god I found you_ earlier?”, he asked.

Jaehyun stilled, looking caught. “I–” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair once. “This is going to sound completely insane, but I had a, um, a premonition, I guess? I woke up and I just knew you were somewhere out there, and you needed help. And I was sure it was just some very vivid nightmare, but I kept thinking, what if it wasn’t. So, I went out looking.” He dropped his gaze. “Like I said, insane.”

“Maybe”, Johnny allowed. “But, insane reason or not, I’m glad you came.”

Jaehyun smiled quietly. “Me too.” They both fell silent, the moment stretching out between them. The air was charged. Jaehyun leaned in ever so slightly and Johnny found himself mirroring the movement. Their lips were so close as to almost be touching.

Looking back, Johnny couldn’t tell who had closed the last bit of distance. But suddenly, they were kissing. Chaste and sweet at first, then deep and passionate.

Until Jaehyun suddenly jerked back, eyes wide.

“I’m sorry!”, he said hastily. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me!” He was beet read.

“I don’t mind”, Johnny said calmly because it was the truth. He could still taste Jaehyun, feel the echo of his lips, and it was the first thing that felt utterly and completely right since he had ended up here.

“Are you sure?” Jaehyun looked cautiously hopeful.

“I’m sure, a thousand percent.” Johnny nodded once, both to emphasize his words and as an unspoken permission.

“Then, can I kiss you again?”

Johnny smiled and took the initiative. He kissed Jaehyun until they were both breathless and flushed.

“Fuck”, Jaehyun breathed, a smile playing across his lips. “Is it weird if I say I dreamed about doing this since I saw you at the café?”

“If it is, I’m very much into weird”, Johnny replied with a smile.

Jaehyun chuckled. “Good. That gives me hope you’re not going to look for a new coffee shop to hang out at.” He ducked his head again, but only momentarily.

There was another pause in their conversation. Jaehyun returned his attention to cleaning the superficial scrapes on Johnny’s palms. In the process, he gave him a clear view of his still red ears. Johnny felt warmth bloom in his chest at the sight. It made the light sting of the disinfectant more than worth it.

“Thank you”, he said for what felt like the hundredth time tonight.

“You need to stop thanking me”, Jaehyun said quietly, blushing even more.

“Can I at least offer to treat you to dinner?”

Another quiet laugh. “That’s really not necessary but I’d love to.”

“Are you free tomorrow?”

“Depends on when”, Jaehyun said, a little apologetic. “I have a photoshoot tomorrow.”

“Hey, if it’s bad timing, we can–”

“No!” Jaehyun cut him off hastily. “No, it’s fine. We should be done around 6 at the latest anyway. I’ll text you the address and you can pick me up?”

Johnny nodded. “Sure.”


	3. Not Alone

Johnny slept in the next day. It was Saturday, after all, and he had only returned home in the early hours of the morning after his disastrous nightly stroll. Although, given how things had ended, it wasn’t all that bad. After patching him up, Jaehyun had insisted on driving him home and waited until the door had closed behind him. Johnny was utterly charmed by it. In his reality, big declarations of love weren’t something they could do. So, the little things meant all the more to them. Shared meals, texts to check in on each other when they had different schedules, spending time together after a particularly stressful day or simply providing an open ear and – sometimes – a shoulder to cry on. Those were the pillars of their relationship.

There was a knock and then Mark walked in, thankfully none the wiser about Johnny’s nightly escapades.

“Breakfast’s ready”, he announced and left again.

“Thanks”, Johnny called after him and got up, rummaging through the pile of clothes on the office chair until he found a pair of sweatpants and a shirt.

He was a bit surprised to find Yuta not at table.

“They called him in to cover someone else’s shift”, Mark answered his unspoken question. His expression was less than pleased.

“Sucks”, Johnny sympathised and sat down, filling his plate.

“Yeah” Mark said between bites, still clearly bummed about it but putting on his best brave face. “But every extra shift gets him closer to being promoted to store manager at which point he will be the one who gets to call and ruin people’s weekend plans. And I’m very much looking forward to it.” It actually seemed to cheer him up. “Besides”, he added, “Yuta promised to make it up to me this evening, so I can’t complain too much.”

Johnny snorted. “Okay, I am very glad I have plans this evening, too.”

“Mhm?”, Mark asked around a mouthful of scrambled egg.

“I’m taking Jaehyun out for dinner.”

Mark quickly swallows and shouts: “What?”

“Yeah, um, we talked for a while yesterday.” He vaguely gestured towards his phone that lay on the table next to him.

“Wow, that was fast” Mark nodded, impressed. “So, where are you taking him?”

“Haven’t decided yet. Nothing too fancy, though. He’s working, too, today. I want to take him somewhere where he can relax.”

“I could ask Yuta”, Mark offered. “He’s good with this kind of thing.”

Johnny nodded. “Thanks”

* * *

The address Jaehyun had sent him turned out to be a mall downtown. Johnny vaguely remembered walking past it a few times before but he’d never gone inside, it seemed. As he walked through the door a slender man with an intense gaze walked up to him.

“Are you Jaehyun’s friend?”, he asked, head cocked slightly and studying him with interest. It was kind of intimidating even though he was significantly shorter than Johnny.

“Um, yes” Johnny smiled, hoping to gloss over his nervousness and at least make a good impression.

“Nice”, the other man said and smiled, his features softening. “Jaehyun’s still busy, so he asked me to get you. I’m Ten by the way.”

Upon hearing the name, Johnny remembered. The fact that he had even needed a trigger like that deeply unsettled him, but he did his best not to let it show on his face.

“Nice to meet you”, he said instead.

Ten led him to one of the stores on the top floor. Some designer brand Johnny had never heard of. One area of the store was closed off, a photoshoot in full swing behind it judging by the noise. Ten led him behind the thin screen wall that acted as a privacy shield.

Jaehyun spotted him almost instantly, smiling a little brighter in greeting without interrupting the photographer’s work. He was lounging on a very minimalistic-looking white sofa that was in stark contrast to the suit he was wearing. Although, wearing was kind of an understatement. The white dress shirt was completely unbuttoned and draped to reveal most of his chest. Johnny felt his mouth go dry. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Ten smirk knowingly before walking off.

“He should be done in a few minutes”, he said as he left.

All Johnny could do was nod, eyes glued to Jaehyun and the way he leisurely switched from one pose to the next. He only caught on that the shooting was over when Jaehyun got up, stretched and walked over to him.

“Sorry to make you wait”, he said. “I’ll just get changed and then we can go.”

“I’ll be right here”, Johnny promised.

As much of a sight as the suit had been, the more casual outfit Jaehyun returned in was clearly something he felt more comfortable in. Johnny saw it in the way he moved and held himself. This was off-work Jaehyun, who you could stay up with in the early hours of the morning talking about everything and nothing or meet in the kitchen early in the morning, humming a song between sips of his first coffee.

“So, where are we going?”, Jaehyun asked as they walked out of the store, taking his hand.

“It’s a surprise”, Johnny said and grinned.

“Give me a hint?”, Jaehyun cajoled.

“Hm, okay. It’s a very cozy place, not far from here and has – according to their website – a unique concept.”

“That could be everything”, Jaehyun complained playfully.

“It’s a restaurant”, Johnny gave another hint.

“And here I thought somebody would finally make my dream of a furniture store date reality”, Jaehyun joked.

Johnny grinned, remembering their trip to Ikea. “Maybe on the second date.”

Suddenly, somebody grabbed the collar of his jacket and yanked him backwards with enough force to make him fall.

“Who are you?”, somebody shouted at him rather dramatically.

Johnny looked up and recognised the angry customer that had caused a commotion at the coffee shop the day he’d met Jaehyun there.

“What’s it to you?”, Johnny said and got up.

“It’s none of your business”, Jaehyun added decisively. He took Johnny’s hand again. “Come on, we’re leaving”, he said quietly, a tense urgency clinging to his words.

“Don’t you dare!”, the man shouted and blocked their way. He pulled out his phone and shoved it into their faces. “Is this how you treat your fans?”, he asked loudly.

“Please stop”, Jaehyun said, looking pained. “I told you before not to follow me around and especially not to bother the people I work or spend time with. Please!”

A stalker fan was the last thing Johnny had expected in this reality. But his surprise was shortlived, quickly replaced by anger. He stepped in front of Jaehyun, making himself as imposing as he could and glared at the man.

“So, you’re calling yourself a fan, huh?”, he said coldly. “I’m sure Jae feels very supported by you accosting him every other day. I’m going to be very nice about this and give you to the count of five to buzz of before I call for security.”

“I won’t led you intimidate me!”, the man shouted but there was an audible quiver to his words.

“Five”, Johnny said calmly.

“This is harassment!”

“What you’re doing? Yes. I’m not even touching you. Four.” Johnny stared him down.

“I have a right to be here!”, the man exclaimed.

“Three”

The man made a frustrated sound and took a step back. Nervously, he looked over his shoulder, maybe looking to see if there was a security guard close by. There was.

“Two”, Johnny counted.

“Fine!”, the man snapped and stalked off.

Behind Johnny, Jaehyun audibly exhaled.

“I’m sorry”, he said when Johnny turned around. He was looking dejectedly at the floor. “I didn’t think he would show up here. Are you alright?” Jaehyun looked up, then, concern clear in his eyes.

“Still all in one piece”, Johnny assured. “And I won’t allow one idiot to ruin our evening. Come on!” He held out his hand invitingly and waited for Jaehyun to take it, a shaky smile on his lips. Hand in hand, they walked out of the mall.

* * *

The Cocoon restaurant did indeed have an interesting concept in that each table was in a small, separate room. The food was ordered via a tablet on the table and the waiters knocked politely every time before entering. As a first date spot it was kind of perfect and Johnny made a mental note to thank Yuta for the suggestion later.

“This place is really nice”, Jaehyun said as they sat down. There was still a nervous air around him, but it was slowly getting better.

Johnny hummed in agreement, taking the chair opposite of him.

“I think it’s my turn to say thank you.” Jaehyun looked up from studying the menu, looking self-conscious.

“What for? Scaring that idiot off?” Johnny waved it off. “I’d do it again any day.”

“For that, too”, Jaehyun said but it was clear that wasn’t what he had meant. “But mostly for not deciding it wasn’t worth the hassle and bolting right after.”

Johnny stared. Maybe dealing with whole groups of stalker fans had desensitized him but he couldn’t even fathom breaking things off over something like this.

“Who would do something like this?”, he spoke his mind.

Jaehyun laughed, short and joyless. “You’d be surprised.”

“It takes much more than that to make me back down”, Johnny said with confidence and smiled brightly at Jaehyun.

Jaehyun ducked his head, flattered, and he untensed a little more.

“You’re kind of incredible”, he said. “I met you a week ago but it somehow feels I’ve already known you for years.” He laughed the way he did when he made some dumb joke. “And here I go sounding like a complete weirdo again.”

Johnny reached across the table and took his hand, interlacing their fingers. “I’m going to say it again: I like your kind of weird. A lot.”

“You have to stop saying that”, Jaehyun complained mock-seriously. More quietly, he added: “I’m starting to believe it.”

“Now I definitely won’t stop.”

It really was like they had always known each other. Despite all the small differences, Jaehyun was still Jaehyun. It made their conversation flow naturally and with ease, moving from teasing banter and jokes to deep conversation.

After dinner, they took a taxi back to Jaehyun’s apartment. This, too, seemed so natural that they were already halfway there when Johnny realized that for Jaehyun this had to feel incredibly rushed.

He waited until they were in the elevator to ask, too conditioned never to talk about personal matters within earshot of anyone.

“Are we moving too fast?”

Jaehyun’s expression turned thoughtful, then determined. “Not for me”, he said, looking at Johnny with a silent question in his eyes.

“For me neiter”, Johnny answered it.

Jaehyun beamed, something hungry in his gaze. “Good”, he said, voice low and rumbling, and gently pushed him up against the wall. “Because it would really suck if you decided to go now and leave me hanging.”

The words were electrifying, sending pleasant shivers down Johnny’s spine.

“Fuck”, he breathed.

“I fully intend to”, Jaehyun hummed and kissed his neck playfully.

Johnny was incredibly grateful that the elevator reached their floor right then because he was neither willing nor able to wait much longer now. Leave it to Jaehyun to have this effect on him regardless of which reality they were in.

They stumbled their way down the hall, all tangled up in each other. Jaehyun made a frustrated noise when he had to rummage through his pockets to look for his keys but it was only a momentary holdup.

“Bed or couch?”, Jaehyun asked, kicking off his shoes without bothering where they landed.

“Bed” Johnny followed his example.

They fell into the sheets, still all over each other. Johnny kissed every inch of Jaehyun’s skin he could read, reveling in the small moans his ministrations drew out of him. Jaehyun, in turn, charted Johnny’s body with his hands, leaving trails of goosebumps in his wake.

They were both already half hard by the time the first clothes came off.

Johnny was pulling out all the stops – and then was thrown for a loop when Jaehyun decisively took the lead, pinning Johnny down with a smirk that would have made him go weak in the knees if he wasn’t already laying down. Not that they had never done this before, but in his reality they rarely had time for anything this extended and when they did Jaehyun usually liked to let Johnny spoil him absolutely rotten. Something which he also happened to enjoy doing immensely. But watching Jaehyun straddle him with a confident, almost cocky, smile on his lips was also absolutely breathtaking and a massive turn on.

“You look so good like that”, Johnny rumbled.

“Flatterer”, Jaehyun mock-chided, grinding his hip once and drawing a loud moan from Johnny.

“Tease!”, he shot back breathlessly.

Jaehyun leaned down with a positively wicked smirk. “Oh, that’s not even close to teasing”, he purred. “Do you want me to show you?”

“Maybe some other day.” His voice sounded close to pleading. Johnny was pretty sure he wouldn’t last if he gave Jaehyun completely free reign. He reached up and unbuttoned Jaehyun’s shirt, then surged upward to kiss him.

“Another day”, Jaehyun agreed when they broke the kiss. He shifted position, gently nudging Johnny’s legs, wordlessly asking permission to take the next step. Johnny spread his legs, utterly mesmerized by Jaehyun as he fetched lube and a condom from the dawer of the bedside table and proceeded to gently work him open.

“Please”, he moaned, full of impatience. “Just–”

Jaehyun shushed him. “Hold out a little bit longer.” He lowered his voice and added: “I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Jaehyun” Johnny was full on pleading now, already feeling the first tremors of a fast-approaching orgasm. He wasn’t going to last much longer.

And finally, Jaehyun indulged him.

It felt incredibly intense, almost overwhelmingly so. Johnny pawed at Jaehyun’s chest, ran his hands through his wonderfully soft hair. The world zeroed in on just the two of them. Jaehyun held his gaze the whole time, somehow looking both incredibly soft and sexy. Johnny was absolutely mesmerized.

“Kiss me”, he whispered and Jaehyun smiled radiantly and did, languid and indulgently. He peppered kisses along Johnny’s jaw until his lips were right next to Johnny’s ear.

“I love you, Johnny Suh”, he whispered right as Johnny reached his climax, so instead of an answer all that came out of his mouth at first was a deep moan. A shudder went through Jaehyun at that and he came, too.

“I love you”, Johnny said as soon as he was coherent enough again. Jaehyun lay bonelessly on top of him, moving his head just enough to smile at him, his dimples showing full force.

“Do you mean it?” Jaehyun asked quietly and Johnny wasn’t quite sure if it was just him angling to hear Johnny sai it again or if he was actually still unsure about it.

“I mean it”, he said solemnly and placed a soft kiss on Jaehyun’s forehead. “I love you. Tonight, tomorrow and for as long as I breathe.”

“Most promises like that turn out to be lies”, Jaehyun said quietly, “but for some reason I believe you.”

“Glad to hear it.”

Comfortable silence stretched out between them. After a while they got up and drifted into the bathroom, taking a shower together.

“Do you want to head home?”, Jaehyun asked as they toweled off.

“Do you want me to go?”, Johnny asked in return.

“No”

“Then I’m not going anywhere.”

Jaehyun smiled at him, quietly pleased.

Back in bed, Johnny put an arm around Jaehyun’s waist and snuggled up to him. When they had still shared a room, they sometimes slept like that. This reality’s Jaehyun seemed to like it as well.

That night, Johnny drifted from dream to vivid dream. They all revolved around Jaehyun and him finding each other in a myriad of different times and universes in a million different ways. In one dream their bond was outright magic, forging an unbreakable connection between them. In another they started on opposing sides of a conflict, meeting by chance, and there was a lot of blood and conflict before they reached their happy end. Sometimes, they didn’t find each other at all. Those dreams were less than happy, and Johnny was always glad when they faded and were replaced by happier visions.


	4. Epilogue

A pillow landed none too gently on his face, startling him awake. With a disgruntled noise he blinked open his eyes – and froze.

The sight of the familiar dorm room was almost jarring.

“Good morning, sleepyhead”, Jaehyun said from his spot in the doorway. “If you want to have breakfast before we head out, you should get out of bed in the next five minutes.” He was already dressed and ready.

“Everyone else already in the kitchen?”

“Mhm” Jaehyun nodded. “Taeyong sent me to get you.”

“Close the door”, Johnny said and got out of bed.

Jaehyun raised a questioning eyebrow but complied. As soon as it clicked shut, Johnny pushed him against it and kissed him absolutely senseless.

“I love you”, he said breathlessly, his hands wandering under Jaehyun’s shirt. “You know that, right?”

“I love you, too, Johnny”, Jaehyun replied, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “But if you rile me up any more and I have to go to the radio station like that you’ll regret it.”

Laughing silently, Johnny backed off, hands raised in mock surrender.

“Alright”, he said. “But we’re definitely going to pick up where we left off this evening. That’s a promise.”

Jaehyun looked intensely pleased at that. “I’m looking forward to it”, he hummed and slipped out of the room.

Over the course of the next few days, the memories of his stint in the other reality slowly drifted out of his mind. One thing remained, though. An unshakeable belief that Jaehyun and him were meant to be and that no matter what life threw at them, they would get through it – together.


End file.
